Lil' G is a globetrotter, who divides time between East Canada and West Europe. A part time musician (guitar, drums, and some keys) and hobby photographer, Lil' G loves pop quizzes as much as good food. Lil' G has written articles and columns for several websites, with topics ranging from graphic novels, travel to music and eye candy.
K's Choice’s was supposed to play Effenaar shortly before Christmas 2010, but I heard their American record company planned a US promo tour, which took precedence over their European one. Part of their European tour got postponed to a later date. I was informed the Eindhoven date was set for March 2, 2011. That was fine with me until I found out Serena Ryder and Melissa Etheridge were going to play Halifax Metro Centre the exact same day. Well, poop!
I first heard of K’s Choice in the 90s while listening Studio Brussel, a Flemish radio station that used to play alternative rock and pop (these days, they play a lot of mainstream music as well). K’s Choice started out as a Flemish band, hailing from a town near Antwerp, Belgium, and the core basically consists of siblings Gert and Sarah Bettens. At one point Sarah moved to the US, where she now resides with her partner and kids, and their bass player is an American as well.
I can’t recall which song I heard first, but I remember both “The Ballad of Lea and Paul” and “Breakfast”. Given the amount of airplay they were getting I figured they must be the hottest thing happening at that time. What caught my attention was singer Sarah Bettens’s voice: it’s smokey, seductive - the kind I find pleasant to listen to. When it comes to their music I love the harmonies. Speaking of harmonies: back in the 90s, one of the acts K’s Choice opened for was Indigo Girls. (I have a recording somewhere of them performing Neil Young’s “Rocking in a free world”.) They also opened for Alanis Morrisette. So that’s their six degrees to Canada.
They went through a few bass players before settling down with Eric Grossman, for whom “Favorite Adventure” was written. (The band played it on his wedding day.) They kicked off the Eindhoven concert with that song. And it was very clear that this audience showed up to see K’s Choice - even though they gave opening act Arid, fellow Belgians, a shot. I have heard of them, and the one song I recognized off their set list was “Too Late Tonight”, (which they played early on). Judging from the audience's response, it might have been better if they played it towards the end of their set.
Singer Sarah announced at the start that this show consisted of two parts: An acoustic set and a full on “rock and roll” set. It’s very much like their latest album Echo Mountain of which the first disc contains uptempo songs, and the second one consists of the slower songs and ballads. I was glad they decided to turn that around for the show and start off with the acoustic set first to get everybody warmed up and ready to rock out later.
The acoustic set lasted about half an hour (it seemed shorter), after which the band took a quick break, allowing their roadies to ready the stage for a regular rock concert.
I was pleasantly surprised when the band also played “Virgin State of Mind”: Buffy fans may recognize this song from an episode in which K’s Choice had a cameo. They, of course, played their biggest hit - worldwide - “Not An Addict” as well. (You may recognize that song). Watch this clip, where Skunk Anansie singer, Skin, joins the band at a Dutch festival called Pinkpop. And there’s your link with the band I previously wrote about.
I had a great time people watching: it was almost like Pride. The audience consisted of people of all ages (anything from teenagers to your mom and dad), straight couples, lots of queer women. I eaves-dropped on a conversation happening behind me where a straight guy introduced his lesbian friend to K’s Choice. (He, too, appreciated Sarah Bettens’s singing voice.)
K’s Choice came back for two encores. The first one was kicked off by Gert performing “Shadowman”, a song which (in a past tour) he had paired up with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. It’s a slightly haunting song, and in total contrast to the rest of the show, but a good indicator the show is coming to an end. Both encores consist of songs that are slower and have a more intimate feel to them.
If I remember correctly they ended the show with “God in My Bed”. People in the audience either hummed along, or were silently listening. And I was reminded of the fact there once was a time where smoking at venues and public spaces was still allowed: Moments like these lent themselves to fish out one’s lighter and sway along to the music. Not anymore. People didn’t even take out their cell phones to do something similar.
Lyrically, K’s Choice is nowhere near as political as Skunk Anansie (or Otep). I think they tend to be poetic, but (dare I say it?) a little simplistic at times, and often laced with sarcasm or self-deprecating humor. Singer Sarah, apparently, once replied: “Listening to the lyrics for the first time, you may find it hard to understand their meaning. When you listen to them a second time you may sense a basic truth in these cryptic words. If you do so, please let me know.”
In case you’re interested you can watch a slide show of band pictures taken at the Eindhoven show here.
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